Steelers 37, Packers 36 The
Steelers may have exposed a huge weakness in the
Packers' defense by relentlessly attacking the middle of the field in the passing game. Ben Roethlisberger frequently targeted Hines Ward,
Heath Miller and Rashard Mendenhall on an assortment of short crossers and option routes between the hashes. With the
Packers intent on dialing up pressure with their linebackers and safeties, the increased use of crossing routes allowed Roethlisberger to get the ball to his playmakers while they were on the move. Roethlisberger also mixed in a few deep shots to keep the
Packers from clamping down on the short routes.

Chargers 27, Bengals 24 The
Bengals' inability to score on their red-zone opportunities cost them against the
Chargers. Cincinnati only scored one touchdown in four attempts. Repeatedly settling for field goals prevented the
Bengals from securing a lead against the high octane
Chargers. Although San Diego's defense deserves credit for making a few pivotal plays in the red zone, Cincinnati was more responsible for killing its drives with silly penalties and mental miscues in critical situations. The biggest blunders occurred on consecutive fourth-quarter plays. On that drive, J.P. Foschi was called for a false start on a first-down play inside the red zone, and that gaffe was followed by
Andre Caldwell's costly fumble. The errors snuffed out an opportunity to take the lead late, and left the door cracked for
Philip Rivers to engineer a winning drive.

Raiders 20, Broncos 19 The
Raiders finally showed glimpses of the offensive potency that many expected this season.
Michael Bush and
Darren McFadden combined for 207 rushing yards, while the
Raiders seemingly pounded the
Broncos into submission. Although the passing game was erratic for most of the contest, the running attack allowed the
Raiders to control the tempo and use a conservative game plan. Given Tom Cable's background as an offensive line coach, it is not surprising that the
Raiders have leaned on their backfield considering the scattershot play they have gotten from the quarterback position.

Panthers 26, Vikings 7 Carolina fans have to wonder how the season wouldâve turned out if the
Panthers went with
Matt Moore earlier. He continues to perform well as the starting quarterback in the place of Jake Delhomme. Moore completed 21 of 33 passes for 299 yards with three touchdowns. More importantly, he avoided the big turnover and repeatedly found a way to connect with
Steve Smith on an assortment of deep throws. Early-season struggles sent the
Panthers reeling out of postseason contention, but Mooreâs steady play has revived the offense and provided some hope. If
John Fox and Co. return in 2010, it will be interesting to see if they give Moore the keys to the offense in training camp.

Titans 27, Dolphins 24 (OT) Vince Young's rapid growth as a quarterback has made the offense nearly impossible to stop. While the fourth-year pro always threatened opponents with his athleticism, his dramatically improved passing skills have put opponents in a quandary. Young's impressive combination of touch and accuracy on deep throws has given the
Titans an added dimension. With the
Dolphins intent on stopping the run using eight- and nine-man fronts, Young repeatedly dropped in pinpoint throws over the top of the defense. Although the strategy to put the game on Young might have worked in the past, his development has rendered the tactic ineffective.

Browns 41, Chiefs 34 While
Josh Cribbs' two kickoff returns for scores will garner most of the attention, Jerome Harrison's spectacular performance keyed Cleveland's win. Harrison single-handedly carried an offense that failed to get anything going through the air. Harrison, who spent most of the season operating as the third-down back, surprisingly did most of his damage on a host of runs between the tackles. The diminutive runner pounded away at the
Chiefs' hapless interior repeatedly on leads and powers right up the gut.

Patriots 17, Bills 10 In a contest that was a lot closer than most expected, numerous penalties by the
Bills undermined their chances of pulling off a stunning upset. Buffalo finished with 11 penalties for 124 yards, and the mental miscues contributed to its demise. Although the
Bills could argue the merits of each call, both
Patriots touchdowns were aided by pass interference flags. Late in the game, an offside penalty on
Aaron Maybin nullified a successful onside kick when Buffalo would have had the ball with a chance to tie the game.

Cardinals 31, Lions 24Ken Whisenhunt's patience with the running game was rewarded in the fourth quarter. Led by Beanie Wells, the
Cardinals used a smash-mouth approach to seize control of the game late. Wells, who finished with 110 yards on 17 carries, ran with reckless abandon between the tackles, and keyed Arizona's final two scoring drives by breaking off explosive runs (gains over 10 yards) to spark the offense. Wells tallied 57 of his rushing yards in the fourth quarter, including an 18-yard touchdown and a critical 34-yard jaunt that set up the winning touchdown. The
Cardinals remain a finesse unit by nature, but their ability to lean on the running game helped them avoid an embarrassing road upset and clinch the NFC West title.

Texans 16, Rams 13Matt Schaub to
Andre Johnson continues to be the winning formula for the
Texans. Johnson repeatedly found open spots in the middle of the defense despite facing an assortment of double coverage. The
Texans cleverly deployed Johnson at various spots in multiple formations to get him a free release at the line of scrimmage. Additionally, Houston utilized more crossing routes to take advantage of his speed against St. Louis' secondary. The tactic didn't result in a lot of points, but it helped the
Texans win when they didn't play particularly well offensively.

Falcons 10, Jets 7 The kicking game is often overlooked, but it let the
Jets down against the
Falcons. New York failed to capitalize on three field goal tries inside 40 yards. A botched hold accounted for one miss and Jay Feeley went wide right on a 38-yarder prior to halftime. However, the miss that ultimately cost the
Jets came on a block due to a high snap with under 5 minutes remaining. The kick would've given the
Jets a seven-point lead. In the end, the misses not only cost the
Jets a victory, but also might extinguish the team's flickering playoff hopes.

Eagles 27, 49ers 13 The
Eagles' offense has a balanced look that hasn't been seen often during the
Andy Reid era. The diverse aerial attack features a big-play weapon (DeSean Jackson), a dependable middle of the field option (
Brent Celek) and a solid possession receiver (
Jason Avant). With Donovan McNabb adept at spreading the ball around, defenses are unable to diffuse the explosive elements of the
Eagles' attack. Additionally, the resurgent running game is further complicating matters for defensive coordinators because they are unable to use coverage-only schemes against the
Eagles due to the success of Leonard Weaver and
LeSean McCoy on the ground. While the
49ers featured a myriad of coverage tactics to slow down the
Eagles, the host of options at Reid's disposal proved to be too much for San Francisco.

Buccaneers 24, Seahawks 7 Tampa Bay's defense continues to improve with
Raheem Morris acting as the play-caller. The unit held the
Seahawks to seven points and came up with five takeaways. Although the Bucs recorded only one sack, the steady pressure from the frontline forced
Matt Hasselbeck to throw a host of errant passes from the pocket. With the ball forced to come out quickly, Tampa Bay's ball-hawking secondary repeatedly jumped Seattle's short and intermediate routes. The Bucs have only two wins, but the identity and swagger of their once-feared defense is slowly returning.

Ravens 31, Bears 7Jay Cutler's arrival in Chicago led to
Super Bowl expectations, but those lofty aspirations appear woefully misguided after he suffered through another turnover-plagued performance. Cutler tossed three interceptions against the
Ravens to push his season total to 25. His penchant for bone-headed miscues has wrecked the offense. Though all of the
Bears' woes aren't the result of Cutler's erratic play, the former
Pro Bowler has to bear some of the responsibility. Granted, he is not playing with a talented cast of pass catchers, but his game management and ball security have to improve for the
Bears to win games.

Roethlisberger is just the 10th player in NFL history to throw for at least 500 yards in a game and the ninth to do it in a non-overtime game.

» Cleveland running back Jerome Harrison rushed for 286 yards and three touchdowns in
the Browns' 41-34 win at Kansas City. Harrison surpassed Pro Football Hall of Famer
Jim Brown (237 in 1957 and 1961) for the most rushing yards in a single-game in franchise history.

Harrison's 286 rushing yards are the third-most in a game in NFL history, trailing only
Adrian Peterson (296 in 2007) and Jamal Lewis (295 in 2003).

Cribbs is the second player in NFL history with two touchdowns of at least 100 yards in the same game. Miami's
Ted Ginn accomplished the feat in Week 8. Cribbs is also the ninth player in NFL history with two kickoff-return touchdowns in a game.

» New England wide receiver
Wes Welker had four receptions in
the Patriots' 17-10 win at Buffalo. Welker, who has played in 12 games this season, leads the NFL with 109 receptions, tied for the most by a player in his first 12 games of a season. Indianapolis'
Marvin Harrison had 109 receptions in his first 12 games of the 2002 season.

» Miami running back Ricky Williams rushed for 80 yards in
the Dolphins' 27-24 overtime loss against Tennessee. Williams, who has 1,055 rushing yards this season, reached the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since 2003, the longest gap between 1,000-yard seasons in NFL history.

Williams also became the seventh running back in NFL history to rush for at least 1,000 yards in a season in which he was 32-plus years old at the start of the season.

NFL Weekly Countdown, which airs each Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network, lets fans program the show. Check out the 15 nominations for the best performances, and then rank in the order you want to see them on the show. Come back Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. to see the results.